Krystal Kauffman

Done Data Work? You Might Have Worked With the US Military Without Knowing. As data workers organize around the world, they need to push for change on what appears to be a major ethical oversight, writes Krystal Kauffman.

The AI boom runs on invisible labor, writes Krystal Kauffman, a research fellow with the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). Underpaid workers in Kenya, the US, and beyond are unknowingly training intelligence systems. This isn't just an ethics problem—it's a consent problem, she says.

another year of us not running a super bowl ad

800 Google employees demand an end to any cloud contracts with ICE and CBP The petition also called for executives to protect vulnerable Google employees, "from cafeteria workers to data center employees."

According to an organizer, “all signatories are full-time employees, and nearly 30% are Google Cloud workers.”

New Inquiry!!!

Have you ever found yourself trying to explain an issue to a chatbot, only to wish you could speak to a human? What if I told you the chatbot you were talking to was actually a human pretending to be a chatbot?

Read Clara and B's short comic art the link below 👇

To hopefully do justice to this issue, we're bringing together @dairinstitute.bsky.social's @milamiceli.bsky.social & @krystalkauffman.bsky.social with @mophatokinyi.bsky.social & Richard Mathenge, cofounders of the Techworker Community Africa and former content moderators.

We hope you'll join us!

Illustration of a silhouette struggling to lift a large, cracked TikTok logo, symbolizing the burden of content moderation. Background with faded TikTok logos, title "Behind the For You" at the top.

🚨 NEW INQUIRY!!

A Brazilian former TikTok moderator, pseudonymized as Lúcio, analyzes the systems designed to extract ever-growing productivity from content moderators and how they operate to harm workers.

Download and read the report at data-workers.org/lucio/

Tackling the Ethics of AI through the Making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE with Valerie Veatch

@alixdunn.com and @valerieveatch.bsky.social will chat through questions of AI power with @shengokai.blacksky.app, @krystalkauffman.bsky.social, @milamiceli.bsky.social, @mophatokinyi.bsky.social, @drtanksley.bsky.social, Thema Monroe-White, and Richard Mathenge.

Anyone can tune in online!

Proceedings of the Eighth AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES2025) Methodological Considerations for Centering Workers’ Epistemic Authority in AIResearchMilagros Miceli1, 2, 3, Adio-Adet Dinika1, Krystal Kauffman1, Camilla Salim Wagner2, 3,Laurenz Sachenbacher2, 3, Alex Hanna1, Timnit Gebru11The Distributed AI Research Institute2Weizenbaum-Institute3Technische Universit ̈at Berlinmila@dair-institute.org, adio@dair-institute.org, krystal@dair-institute.org, camilla.salim.wagner@tu-berlin.de,l.sachenbacher@tu-berlin.de, alex@dair-institute.org, timnit@dair-institute.org

📣New paper!
Thrilled to share the methodological recipe for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social in this article co-authored with @adiod.bsky.social @krystalkauffman.bsky.social Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher @alexhanna.bsky.social & @timnitgebru.bsky.social

👉 ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AI...

Berlin: Tiktok-employees going on strike against massive job cuts German Tiktok censors have trained an AI that is now taking their jobs. Verdi wants to talk, Tiktok doesn't. There was a warning strike on Wednesday.

TikTok management wants to lay off over 160 workers in Berlin as easily and cheaply as possible. After the first meeting of the conciliation committee, employees could be DISMISSED IMMEDIATELY.
www.heise.de/en/news/Berl...

Over the past months, I had the privilege to be part of a great team of scholars, practitioners, and data workers who developed ethical principles for academic data work requesters. These principles have now been published @weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social: www.weizenbaum-institut.de/publikatione...

Organizing Across Borders, by Joan Kinyua The Data Labelers Association is developing mutual support structures and fighting for better working conditions. This inquiry recounts our path to founding it and acknowledges our ongoing partnership...

🚨NEW INQUIRY!

@joan1k.bsky.social from @datalabelers.bsky.social discusses beginnings, gratitude, and partnerships in this piece.

@dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social is an active partner of the DLA, and we remain united in the fight for the rights of data workers worldwide!

data-workers.org/DLA/

New Inquiry!!

Krystal Kauffman, Adio Dinika and Milagros Miceli take a selfie outdoors

Caught up this week with @krystalkauffman.bsky.social and @adiod.bsky.social to plot what’s next for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social: new inquiries, new events, and some big ideas in the works. More soon!

New Inquiry is live! Our co-researchers have identified the problems in data work. Now it is time to create solutions. Read on below!

@weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social

Live right now!!

A Mental Health Intervention for Data Workers, by Kauna Ibrahim Malgwi A scalable mental health intervention designed for data workers, grounded in hands‑on insight and evidence‑based practice from my dual perspective as a former content moderator and a registered clinic...

🚨New Inquiry!! Today, we present Kauna’s mental healthcare proposal tailored specifically to data workers - addressing PTSD, burnout, depression, and more. Her plan delivers a way forward for those affected and a call for change. data-workers.org/kauna/
#MentalHealthInTech #DataWorkersInquiry

A flyer of with headshots of the featured speakers. Cat Small, product designer, game maker. Rudy Fraser founder, Blacksky Ra'il I'Nasah Kiam, indi scholar, artist. Roland X. Pulliam. Founder, heuristic instruments.

🔇🔇🔇Join us for an honest conversation with some of the people forging a better digital future. Event will be recorded for those who can't make it.

⏰ Thursday May 30th at 10am PDT/1pm EDT

➡️ Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/imagining-...

More info on our amazing speakers below🧵

Follow the Data Labelers Association here 👉 @datalabelers.bsky.social

Visit www.data-workers.org to view Sakine's contribution to the Data Workers' Inquiry. While you're there, check out the whole repository!

Wilington Shitawa, drawing from his personal experiences and interviews with fellow workers Andrea, Derrick, and Edwin, created the comic „Click Captives: The Unseen Struggle of Data Workers“.

Wilington Shitawa

Wilington Shitawa is a former data worker and quality analyst who has worked at Cloud Factory and Sama in Nairobi, Kenya. Drawing from his personal experiences and interviews with fellow workers Andrea, Derrick, and Edwin, he created the comic „Click Captives: The Unseen Struggle of Data Workers“.

“Safe data work demands better pay, better working conditions, and a safe, supportive environment that helps workers deal with the emotional toll of the job.”
Fasica Berhane Gebrekidan, data worker and DWI community researcher

In her report “If I Had Another Job, I Would Not Accept Data Annotation Tasks,” Roukaya al-Hammada highlights the precarious working conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon involved in data annotation.

In “The Impact of Gift Card Payments on MTurk Workers”, Alexis Chávez reveals how many MTurk workers —depending on where they live— are only paid in Amazon gift cards deposited into their Amazon.com balance.

Today I'm announcing my departure from Turkopticon, where I've been the lead organizer for the last few years.

I'll be dedicating my time to research and advocacy with DAIR, pushing boundaries in ways that are personally and professionally fulfilling.

Thanks to all who have supported me!

Happy to join @gleemie.bsky.social on this list! I see a lot of brilliant women here - congrats to all! womeninaiethics.org/the-list/of-...

Not-so-artificial intelligence: the human workers who power AI Invisible, isolated from one another, and with little income security – such is the lot of data workers. And yet without them, there'd be no ChatGPT, Midjourney or Gemini.

"Generative AI will always need humans"...says @krystalkauffman.bsky.social. Dylan Baker agrees: “It’s a well-crafted marketing strategy on the part of the platforms to claim that one day AI will no longer need humans.”
voxeurop.eu/en/artificia...

SUBJECT: Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs 'The American people elected Donald J. Trump to be President of the United States and gave him a mandate to increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar. In Fiscal Year 2024. of the nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Government spent, more than $3 trillion was Federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans. Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities. Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending wokeness" and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again. The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve. This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President's policies and requirements. For example, during the initial days of his Administration, President Donald J Trump issued a series of executive orders to protect the American people and safeguard valuable taxpayer resources, including Protecting the American People Against Invasion (Jan. 20, 2025). Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid (Jan 20, 2025), Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements (Jan. 20, 2025). Unleashing American Energy (Jan. 20. 2025). Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing (Jan. 20.

ent these orders, each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all jal assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that any of the President's executive orders. In the interian, to the extent applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency nay be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial surice tot foreign nongovernmental organizations, DEL woke gender ideology, and the pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the he temporary pause will become effective on January 28, 2025, at 5:00 rehensive analysis. Federal agencies must immediately deadlines for assistance programs arising while the les must report this information to OMB along with an directs Federal agencies to pause all activities associated conducting merit review panels No later than Febrar - 10. 2025, agencies shail submit to OMB detailed information on any programs projects or activities subject to this pause. Each agency must pause. (i) issuance of disbursement of Federal funds under all open awards, and (il) other relevant has reviewed provided guidance to your agency with respect to the information act recordin grant and ptions allowing Federal agencies to issue new awards or take other case basis. To the extent required by law, Federal agencies may continue nistrative actions. such as closeout of Federal awards (2 CFR 200.344), or expressly required by law

NEW — OMB temporarily pauses all agency grants and loans programs.

Per copy of memo: "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve."

Put this on your calendar - We're looking forward to seeing you on Feb 13!